The main goal of this work is to validate an innovative experimental facility and to establish a methodology to evaluate the influence of some of the engine parameters on local engine heat transfer behaviour under motored steady-state conditions. Instantaneous temperature measurements have been performed in order to estimate heat fluxes on a modified Diesel single cylinder combustion chamber. This study was divided into two main parts. The first one was the design and setting on of an experimental bench to reproduce Diesel conditions and perform local-instantaneous temperature measurements along the walls of the combustion chamber by means of fast response thermocouples. The second one was the development of a procedure for temperature signal treatment and local heat flux calculation based on one-dimensional Fourier analysis. A thermodynamic diagnosis model has been employed to characterise the modified engine with the new designed chamber. As a result of the measured data coherent findings have been obtained in order to understand local behaviour of heat transfer in an internal combustion engine, and the influence of engine parameters on local instantaneous temperature and heat flux, have been analysed. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.